For Paul O’Neill, hitting is as much about his head as his bat; as much about his emotions and his confidence as his mechanics and swing. Judging from the offensive tear he’s on, the Yankee right fielder must be feeling pretty good.

O’Neill came into last night’s game with Texas on a nine-game hitting streak, during which the Yankees were 8-1. He had extra-base hits in all nine games, and Joe Torre said the biggest key is the high-strung O’Neill keeping his emotions in check and his at-bats relaxed.

“It’s more emotion than anything else,” Torre said. “He’s a very emotional person, and at times gets a little jumpy at the plate. Right now it looks like he’s letting his hands work for him a little better, keeping his weight back.

“But I think in order for Paul O’Neill to be successful, he still needs [to drive the ball]. When he’s driving the ball to left-center field, that tells me Paul O’Neill is on his game.”

His game has been on-and-off all season. After a record-setting World Series, he signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal for what many expected would be his final season. He struggled early and was dropped from third to sixth in the order.

Torre said O’Neill’s return to his old third spot last night was just reshuffling due to Jorge Posada’s absence. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old O’Neill has shown he still has something left in his tank.

His nine-game extra-base tear was second in the majors only to Cliff Floyd’s 10-game run earlier this year, and the longest such streak by a Yankee since Don Mattingly’s 10 straight back in 1987. And the person least impressed is O’Neill, who hates talking about hitting almost as much as he hates an ill-timed strikeout.

“Sometimes you swing and hit it, sometimes you swing and don’t,” said O’Neill, 16-for-his-last 32. “[When you’re hot] your mechanics are better, and I think your confidence is better. But every day it starts over.

“You have to keep putting in the same work: If you’re not, you’re right back to not hitting. It lasts for a day – the next day you’ve got to start all over again. I hate even talking about it, it’s easier to go out and see what happens.”